There is no surprise more magical than the surprise of being loved.

Charles Morgan

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Chapter 6

Evie sifted through the notes that Lonnie had given her as she walked through the hallways with Mal and Carlos clutching a rope attached to her book bag. By Thursday Evie and Jay had figured out a system that seemed to be effective. They'd worked out who chaperoned which child during what class, a feat which required more trial and error than either of them had expected. After school, Lonnie and Evie would watch Mal and Carlos during Mathletes. Then Evie would meet up with Ben and Jay for dinner. After dinner, Ben would babysit to allow Jay and Evie a brief respite to keep their grades from taking a nosedive.

Despite having formed some semblance of a routine, Evie found herself exhausted at the end of the day, retiring to bed at the same time as Mal and Carlos. Children were a force to be reckoned with, and Evie wished that she could siphon off some of their energy so that she could keep up with them. She returned the notes to the folder labeled 'Carlos' and looked through the folder labeled 'Mal'. Lonnie had gone around to some of her friends and requested copies of notes for the various classes that Carlos and Mal were enrolled in.

Evie hadn't thought about their classes, she hadn't had time. But Lonnie, bless her heart, had stepped up to collect notes, assignments, and study guides for when Mal and Carlos turned back to their normal ages. Evie did not envy how much homework they'd already have to catch up on from only missing a week of class. She glanced behind her every once in a while to make sure that Mal and Carlos were still following as they walked to the locker rooms to wait for Jay and Ben. Carlos was clutching the rope with one hand and Susan with the other as he toddled along, face turned upward, absorbing everything his eyes could land on. Mal was at the end of the rope, trudging slowly to hold them up. She was pouting because Evie had reprimanded her for coloring on Carlos while Evie had her back turned. Evie had managed to wipe off most of the marker, but Carlos still had splotches of different hues on his arms and face. Mal couldn't have colored on Carlos with the nice washable markers that had been provided for her, no, she just had to find the permanent markers in someone's book bag to scribble on Carlos.

Lonnie had thought it was funny, snapping pictures and sending them to Doug, but Lonnie hadn't been the one to try and scrub the marker off of a squirming child without taking off a layer of skin. Evie was lucky that she carried a can of hairspray in her bag, using the beauty product to remove the worst of the markings.

Mal's moping made them arrive a few minutes later than normal and Ben and Jay were already in the corridor, waiting for Evie. Jay intercepted the group, greeting Mal and picking up Carlos.

"How was practice?" Evie asked, attempting to put aside her annoyed mood.

"S'fine." Jay responded, "Lots of running and stuff. What's on Carlos' face?"

Evie and Mal simultaneously huffed at his question, earning a look of puzzlement from both the male teens.

"Don't worry about it." Evie quipped, "It's already been taken care of and you'll probably see pictures later anyway, so it doesn't matter."

Sensing her mood, the boys let the subject drop. Ben picked Mal up to give the girls some separation and sat her on his shoulders, her favorite perch. "Alright, time for dinner and then afterward you two have a special meeting," Ben announced.

Evie gasped, "Oh shoot, I almost forgot about their doctor's appointment!" She coiled up the rope and tucked it in her bag, no longer needing it since both children were being carried. She stumbled, paying more attention to her bag than her placement of her feet, and her bag went flying, spilling its contents over the carpeted hallways.

"Are you alright, Evie?" Ben asked, carefully balancing Mal as he stooped down to help her collect her things.

"Yes, thank you, Ben. I'm fine, I just," She trailed off as her eyes landed on her mirror. "Jay!" She shrieked and picked up the mirror. An image was forming out of the static and she squinted her eyes to make out the form. Jay and Ben crowded around her, watching as a book formed and was tucked into a bag. The image faded back to static and Evie sighed, sitting back on her heels. "We were so close to seeing something."

"Don't beat yourself up over this Beri, it's not your fault. They must've moved out of range." Jay rested a hand on her shoulder, comforting her.

"I'm hungry," Carlos complained, bored of fidgeting with Jay's hair and unaware of what had just occurred.

"We're going," Jay plopped a kiss on Carlos's head without thinking, freezing when he realized what he did. He cleared his throat, internal crisis unknown to the others, "Let's go get dinner."


Evie and Jay did their best to get Carlos and Mal to cooperate as measurements were taken, heat beats checked, and reflexes tested. The doctor reported that both Mal and Carlos were slightly underweight and that they need to ensure that they're eating enough. Jay had known that Carlos's mom had been terrible with taking care of him, it was why Carlos's growth was stunted. But learning that Mal was also malnourished came as a surprise to Jay. He held Carlos on his lap and promised him a snack once they left the doctor's office. The first part of the appointment wasn't too bad compared to what came next. The doctor helped Mal and Carlos off the examination table and reached for his clipboard, jotting down notes. When he looked up, he began to ask them questions, many of which would've never crossed Jay's mind.

The doctor asked about the 'home environment' and whether or not they were 'curious enough' and 'do they have frequent mood swings'. Everything that Jay and Evie responded with was recorded, scratched into the papers on the clipboard. Mal and Carlos were beginning to grow restless and the doctor agreed that it was near time to wrap things up. "I just have one more question for you two." The doctor said, deep voice soothing them. "Do you have any last concerns about their behavior that we haven't covered yet? Like is there a habit that one of them does but the other doesn't?"

Jay shook his head, "Not that I've noticed."

Evie opened her mouth to speak but hesitated. "Actually," She said, "There is something."

"There is?" Jay asked.

"It's about Carlos. He's very clingy. It's not that it's a problem," She insisted, "It's just Mal doesn't need to be carried as much as Carlos and I just want to make sure that nothing's wrong."

Jay had noticed Carlos's dependent nature but hadn't thought that it was a problem. Maybe he hadn't been aware because he enjoyed Carlos needing to be carried, needing Jay's attention.

"Interesting." The doctor began, still writing on his clipboard. Jay wondered what he could've been writing this whole time. "Luckily, there is a simple explanation for this. Now most children by age four don't need to be carried very often, preferring to explore the world on their own two legs. However, you mentioned earlier that little Carlos here is a rather fearful child, no?"

"No, you're right," Evie agreed, stroking Mal's hair to calm the fidgeting girl.

"Carlos is out of the environment that he knows. While comparably, Auradon is much less toxic for him than the island, it's still very new to him. I think his clinginess might be a manifestation of his anxiety regarding the whole situation combined with his obvious trust in both of you. Despite having been turned into a four-year-old, he still seems to view you as representing somewhere safe."

Jay clutched Carlos a little tighter on his lap, feeling a pang in his heart at the doctor's words. "Oh," Evie spoke softly, voice thick with emotion.

Jay cleared his throat, and declared, "If that's everything, these little ones have a playdate with the King that they should be getting to."

"Yes, of course." The doctor acquiesced. "Remember to make sure they eat three meals plus snacks, and they need to get at least an hour of time outside a day and try to find activities that promote critical thinking skills," he rushed as they left the makeshift office that had been set up in an old classroom.

They sped through the hallways, pausing once they reached Ben's door. "Okay guys, here we are," Evie announced.

Jay smiled at Carlos, "Have fun, and don't torment Ben too much."

Carlos wrapped his arms around Jay's neck and hugged him, Susan dangling against Jay's back. "I love you 'Amana."

"Love you too, puppy."

Evie knocked on the door before turning back to them. "Don't worry, we'll be back in an hour or so."

"Can Ben tell us a bedtime story tonight?" Mal asked as they waited for Ben to answer the door.

"Maybe, sweetheart. We'll have to see." Evie affectionately patted her hair, turning back to the door as Ben appeared.


"No, the purple marker is mine, you need the green one," Mal said, passing Ben the green marker. The three of them were on the ground in a circle, drawing their own separate pictures. Carlos was drawing Susan the dragon-dog with laser eyes, Mal was drawing various shades of purple and blue, and Ben was drawing a flower. Markers—the washable ones—were scattered around the three, some sporting the wrong colored cap and some whose caps had mysteriously disappeared.

"But the stem of my flower is going to be green, I can't have green petals too," Ben protested, now holding six shades of green that Mal had handed him.

"Maybe you're not trying hard enough then," Mal retorted sassily.

Ben laughed and said, "How can I argue with that logic?"

He selected a marker and began to draw the petals, absently listening to the child-friendly playlist of music playing in the background. Carlos sang absently to the tune, as he focused on his art. Mal studied each marker carefully before selecting the next hue to add to her abstract drawing.

"Ben?" Mal asked, staring intently at a lavender shaded marker.

"Yes?"

"Are we friends when I'm older?"

"I'd like to think that we're really good friends, yes," Ben returned, turning his page as he shaded in the petals.

"Good."

"Mhm."

They worked on their drawings without comment for a few more minutes before Mal spoke again. "Ben?"

"Yes?"

"What is Carlos like when he's your age?"

Ben tapped the capped end of his marker against his chin, taking a moment to think. "Well," he said, "Carlos plays tourney with me and Jay. He's really good friends with Dude, too." Carlos was watching Ben, absorbing every word spoken. "He's also really good with computers, but nobody really knows how he got so good at it. Something that hasn't changed is that you—" Ben pointed his marker at Carlos, "—are really good at using those big brown eyes of yours to get Jay to agree with whatever you want. I don't think either of you have realized that it happens, though." Ben trailed off in a laugh, noticing Carlos look at him with the aforementioned expression.

"Does he still have freckles?" Mal inquired, seeming to be genuinely curious about the state of Carlos's spots.

"Indeed he does, in fact, he has even more." Ben bopped the tip of Carlos's nose with his marker and Carlos giggled, grabbing the marker from Ben to use on his drawing.

"Good," Mal piped, "I like them."

"Me too," Carlos agreed, drawing dots on his hand with his marker.

"Carlos!" Ben intercepted the marker, "These are for paper, not people."

"Oh, sometimes I forget. I'm sorry." Carlos pouted and Ben handed him back the marker, susceptible to the big brown eyes he'd claimed were Jay's weakness.

"What am I like?" Mal turned her paper over and continued to scribble on the back of it.

"What?"

"When I'm older," she intoned as if Ben were stupid, "What am I like when I'm old like you?"

"One thing that isn't different is your snarkiness." Mal gave him a look of confusion and Ben continued, "Never mind that. You love strawberries when you're older and you can draw these incredible pictures that you swear could be grabbed right off the page." He reached out and tugged playfully on one of her pigtails. "You wear your hair shorter too, though I love your hair any way you choose to style it."

Mal smiled at Ben and Carlos sang, "Mal has a boyfriend, Mal has a boyfriend!" Mal whipped her head around to glare at Carlos.

"NO! No, I don't! Boys are gross and I'm never ever ever getting a boyfriend!" Mal threw her marker down and crossed her arms as Carlos stuck his tongue out.

"I'm going to have a boyfriend someday because girls are ickier than boys," Carlos retorted.

"Nuh uh!"

"Uh huh!"

Mal growled, eyes flashing green, making the markers skitter around them. Carlos frowned, reaching out to grab a fleeing marker before looking back at Mal.

"No, Lilly, you're not supposed to use magic on your friends, remember?" Carlos chided her, recalling some lesson that Ben hadn't been present to witness.

"Take back what you said," Mal whined. "Boys are icky."

"Mal, Carlos is allowed to think that boys aren't gross. Besides, I'm a boy." Ben cut in, defusing the tension.

"Yeah but you're different," Mal explained. "'Cuz I like you better than other boys."

"Jay's not icky," Carlos added.

Mal scrunched her nose, thinking before saying, "No, he's icky too, but I guess everyone is allowed to choose one boy to be their not icky one."

"How flattering," Ben laughed while Carlos nodded in agreement.

"If I get a boyfriend he has to like red because that's my favorite color," Carlos stated simply, sorting through the remaining markers to find the red ones.

"Yes, but purple." Mal agreed, looking at her collection of purple markers.

Ben picked up a dark blue marker and drew a smiley face in the center of his flower. "Red and purple are quite nice colors," He commented and they all returned to their drawings. Ben drew several more smiling flowers, relieved that they'd managed to avoid a blowup. It had been a long week for all of them. Ben and Doug had attempted to get some snooping done but to no avail. No one they'd talked to so far had known anything and as they crossed off people on their suspect list, their hope fell. Tomorrow, he reminded himself, tomorrow Ben was having a sleepover with Mal and Carlos so that Evie and Jay could sneak out unhindered to meet the author of the mysterious note. It had been on Ben's mind since they had shown it to him.

Ben wished that he could go with them to the rendezvous, but he understood that he would be of more help by keeping Mal and Carlos out of trouble. Tomorrow they'd have a solid lead. Tomorrow.


Evie leaned her head on Jay's shoulder as they waited, wedged between a rather large shrub and the castle wall, the perfect vantage point for watching the North Wing entrance from outside without being seen. They still had ten minutes until the meeting time, but the moon was high in the sky and the two teens were exhausted from chasing after Mal and Carlos all week. Jay was grateful that Ben was watching them for the night because that meant that after this meeting, Evie and Jay could return to their own beds in their own rooms and maybe even sleep in past the sunrise—which for some reason Mal and Carlos had determined was the best time to start the day.

Jay folded and unfolded the note, reading over the words that he had memorized by now. He didn't know what to expect from this meeting, and the uncertainty of the situation put him on edge. He poked Evie every few minutes to make sure that she was awake. He didn't want to go into this alone. The minutes crawled by as if trudging through a thick syrup. Jay froze when he heard the old oak doors creak open. Evie lifted her head, eyes wide. They both crept around the bush, still hidden from sight of the door. Unable to see who had stepped out, Jay stood, making himself visible.

"Where's the book?" He demanded curtly.

The figure turned and spoke, "I'm really sorry. I have some bad news for you."

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I'M SORRY! Sorry that this chapter is slightly shorter than normal and for the cliffhanger. Also I want to thank you so much for all the reviews! The last chapter has gotten the most (11) reviews! I can't even begin to describe how happy I get every time I get an email saying that I got another review. I really needed all of your kind words of encouragement because this last week was rough. I have a physics exam on Tuesday and a project for my english class due Monday so what is sleep hahah ahaa send help pls

Anyway, make sure to keep reviewing because it really does give me motivation to keep writing and fight against writer's block. I love all of you so much! :) Don't forget to let me know if you see any typos! Updates on Sundays!

Question: What was your favorite game as a child?

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